Top Percentage
by Oswald Bastable
Summary: The Johto League. An unlikely challenger shows up to claim the title, an up-and-coming trainer from Cherrygrove City. But what's even more unlikely, in his lineup of powerful Pokemon, is the youngster's startling starter, more powerful than any Pokemon of the type has any right to be. They've certainly come a long way since Route 30...


_Just a little oneshot, mostly about unlikely champions. R&R are much appreciated._

**Top Percentage**

A magnificent blast of energy filled the whole arena with light. Hundreds of spectators looked on as the epic fight carried on: the Johto Pokémon champion versus the latest challenger, an up-and-coming kid from Cherrygrove City. They had both opened with very strong Pokémon: the champion with a Feraligatr, the challenger with a rare and massively powerful Dragonite. Currently, they were locked in an astounding deadlock: Feraligatr had shot an Ice Beam at Dragonite, which Dragonite had countered with a Hyper Beam. And in a dazzling display of sheer power, the two beams had clashed, meeting in a conflagration of cold ice and sheer energy at the very center of the stadium, and thus commencing a thrilling struggle as both Pokémon fought to keep their own beam going and undo their opponent's.

Dragonite was fierce; he really was. But Feraligatr was using ice, and dragons are weak against ice, so that, in time, Feraligatr overcame, and Dragonite was knocked down from the skies in a large blast of cold.

The challenger didn't despair however, but immediately sent in a Victribell: he smiled. He'd had this Victribell since he'd been a little kid, and it came from Violet City, which was right next to his home town. It was the second Pokémon he'd caught, though of course, it had been a Bellsprout at the time.

Victribell made quick business of Feraligatr, and, surprisingly enough, also of a Scizor that was sent at it, using Body Slam where grass-type moves would have failed, and neutralizing the bug Pokémon before it could use any of its fatal bug attacks.

Still, in the end, Victribell was overcome, though it took no less than an Arcanine, a powerful semi-legendary, to burn it to a crisp; and now it was the champion's turn to get on a roll: Arcanine's great attacks destroyed Pokémon after Pokémon after Pokémon: the challenger's first, instinctive choice, his Politoed, was done away with by Arcanine's Bite, and after it, the fiery blasts annihilated the challenger's Steelix and even of his Umbreon, when the challenger tried a more conservative route.

By now, the challenger was down to one Pokémon. And he was in a bit of a jam, because, although his Victribell in particular had put on quite a show, on the whole, the champion by this point had some reason to think that, as far as challenger matches went, it hadn't been his hardest yet.

With Umbreon fainted, the challenger paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and composing himself. However, much to the champion's surprise, he did not seem in the least bit fazed: rather, there was a strange look on his face. It took the champion a while to realize it, but his challenger was grinning.

And with that, the challenger sent forth his sixth and final Pokémon.

There had once lived a little boy in Cherrygrove City, Johto. He didn't have any Pokémon at the time, because he was very young, and neither did any of his friends. Still, one morning, they reckoned that the trip along Route 30 and Route 31 was not that difficult, and that, active little kids that they were, they might take a nice long hike, and maybe even make it to Violet City by nightfall.

And so the kids set off, uphill to Violet City. And as they were walking through the tall grass, they saw many interesting things, especially cool plants and some insects. However, at length, they also finally saw one thing that caught their interest above all else: a Pokémon.

A Rattata, to be specific.

Now the kids were young, and, as we've said, they weren't any of them Pokémon trainers. But they still knew that Rattata was not exactly considered a powerful Pokémon. On the other hand, it was a Pokémon, and they were quite scared of it. So that the leader of their gang, after a bit of a staring down with the rat, gave it a big strong kick, and sent it scurrying off, much to the delight of the whole gang of kids, who cheered and congratulated him.

Much to the delight of all of them, that is, except that one little boy with whom we started this little tale and who, it so happened, did not like it at all that his friend had kicked the Rattata: this boy, for his part, thought that the Rattata looked really cool, with its big fangs and its purple coat, and he even wished that he had one. And, indeed, when it ran off having been kicked, the boy ran after it, and, departing a bit from the other kids, found the Pokémon. And finding it he offered it some berries he happened to be carrying, which the Rattata accepted only very cautiously, but which, in the end, it ate with great relish, looking up with its big, wondering eyes at the boy.

The kid smiled at it. He was very happy that the kick hadn't been the end of his encounter with Rattata; still, he couldn't stay long, because eventually his friends called him back.

And they continued their hike. Yet it was to be a very ill-fated hike, because after a while they came across another Pokémon, only that this one was a lot more dangerous than Rattata:

The kids crossed a giant and very aggressive-looking Heracross. They had, from the looks of it, trespassed on the huge bug's territory, and the thing proposed to attack them.

Most of the kids ran, and that one kid who had fed the Rattata would've run too, except that in his haste, his shoelaces got tangled in the undergrowth, and he tripped. And as he looked back, the Heracross was coming right at him, and the little kid was terrified that it was liable to snap him in two or something, as he had heard Heracross did sometimes.

However, nothing of the sort happened: because just as Heracross was going to fall upon him, suddenly, darting out from under the tall grass, a triumphant streak of purple shot forth.

It was, of course, Rattata. Grateful for the food it had gotten, it had followed its young benefactor at a distance and now, seeing that he was in trouble, it came to the rescue.

And, indeed, with its lightning-quick attack, it felled the Heracross in one impressive move.

Ever since then, the boy and the Rattata had been best friends, and the boy had "captured" it, and spent several years with the Rattata as his only Pokémon. With it, he fought his friends and passersby on the road between Cherrygrove and Violet City, training it so that one day it would be the best Rattata ever.

The kid's name was Joseph, by the way, or Joey for short, and you might have heard of him; but now you know just why that Rattata, was so important to him, and why he was so eager to prove it was the best there was.

And eventually, he did manage to do great things with it: even, one day, when he finally set off on his Pokémon journey, and he began to catch other Pokémon -Joey had, in his youth, resolved to fight only with Rattata, but eventually gave up on the idea-, he always kept it as his prime fighter.

And after many travels and many adventures, at length, youngster Joey had at last come to challenge the Johto Champion for the most prestigious title in the region. And this was the challenger match we started this story with.

Of course, now, you can guess which the challenger's last Pokémon was.

The champion balked at first, and then outright laughed as it was sent out:

"Rattata? You really think you're going to take down my Arcanine with a Rattata?"

At which Joey calmly smirked; he'd grown a lot since his days challenging trainers along Route 30, but he still kept some of his youthful exuberance.

"I'll have you know," the young challenger said confidently "That he's in the top percentage of all Rattatas."

Then, he turned his attention to the battle, and with firm determination he commanded:

"Rattata, Hyper Beam!"

One must admire just how much training the little beast had gone through: Although he'd caught other Pokémon, Joey had been at least somewhat true to his initial loyalty to it, and he'd trained it alone as much as all the other members of his team combined.

That Hyper Beam knocked out the majestic Arcanine in a single blow.


End file.
